Jurassic Kingdom is coming to Manchester this summer

A roar-some national animatronic dinosaur tour is coming to Manchester this summer, including 30 full scale creature features.

A T-Rex standing around 18 metres from head to tail, a battle between Deinonychus and Tenontosaurus, and a 16 metre long Diplodocus are all in store as visitors travel back over 65 millions of years at Jurassic Kingdom.

As the UK’s first ever national outdoor animatronic dino-tour, families can also expect to see snarling jaws, moving eyes, swaying tails and roaring sound effects.

Visitors will follow a trail around the site at Philips Park, Clayton, and encounter the giant dinosaurs as part of the walking tour which lasts around 60 minutes – depending on how fast you walk or run.

The tour has an educational element attached thanks to an educational worksheet for primary school aged children and an educational marquee where visitors can watch dinosaur documentaries. Other activities include an excavation scene where younger children can dig in the sand to unearth a T-Rex fossil, a VR experience and a range of photo opportunities.

Jurassic Kingdom has also received support from Manchester-based, internationally recognised and multi award-winning palaeontologist, Dean Lomax, for the educational side of the attraction. Dean has provided all of the facts and figures about each of the dinosaurs and other prehistoric reptile models.

He said: “What we’ve been able to do is add the very latest information on the interpretation boards with regards to these particular dinosaurs based on recent research and statistics. That means when families come to visit, children can enjoy learning something new and exciting based on the latest research around these magnificent creatures from the past. The worksheets add another layer to their experience – you never know, we might help inspire the next generation of palaeontologists.”

The dinosaurs cover three key areas including the Jurassic, Triassic and Cretaceous period. The full-scale models have been built by experts in China and the tour is being run by Weli Creative – the team behind the sell-out Magical Lantern Festival tour in 2016, which saw hundreds of thousands of people through the gates in Leeds, London and Birmingham.

Naz Kabir, Weli Creative’s Event and Marketing Director, said: “I think almost everyone loves dinosaurs to varying degrees and you just have to look at everything from kids’ books to Hollywood films to see how popular they are. They are one of the great mysteries of history and while we may never be able to bring any back to life, we can do the next best thing and that’s what Jurassic Kingdom is all about – fun, adventure, excitement and education.

“We know there is a huge market across the tourism sector for family themed activities so it made complete sense to build on the Magical Lantern Festival’s success and create something for the daytime that the whole family can get together and enjoy. Some of the dinosaurs are quite scary – you have been warned.”

The event runs from July 8 until July 23 daily from 10am to 8pm with last entry at 7pm.

Tickets are now on sale at www.jurassickingdom.uk with online booking prices from £11.50 adults, £10.50 concessions, £9.50 children and £38 for a family ticket plus standard booking fees.

An early bird 20% discount offer will run from today until Sunday June 11 – the discount code is: MAN20.